Shades of Black: Crime and Mystery Stories by African-American Authors (44 page)

Penny Mickelbury
is the author of seven novels in two successful mystery series: the Carole Ann Gibson mysteries, featuring the first Black female criminal defense attorney in the mystery genre, and the Mimi Patterson/Gianna Maglione mysteries, featuring the first Black female investigative reporter in American Mysteries. Her short stories have been included in the anthology
Spooks, Spies, and Private Eyes,
and
The Mysterious Naiad.
She has contributed articles to several mystery magazines and publications and is a frequent guest lecturer at colleges and universities across the country. Also an accomplished playwright, her work was chosen by the California African-American Museum to be presented as part of its Radio Theater Program. Her novel
Night Songs
was nominated for the 1995 Lambda Literary Award, and
Paradise Interrupted,
her fourth Carole Ann Gibson book, won the 2001 Golden Pen Award, given by the National Black Writers Alliance for the best mystery novel of the year.

Walter Mosley
is the author of twelve books and has been translated into twenty-one languages. His popular mysteries featuring Easy Rawlins and his friend Raymond “Mouse” Alexander began with
Devil in a Blue Dress,
which was made into the film of the same name, starring Denzel Washington and Jennifer Beals. Others in the series were
A Red Death, White Butterfly, Black Betty, A Little Yellow Dog,
and
Bad Boy Brawly Brown,
a prequel to the Rawlins mysteries,
Gone Fishin',
and a series of short stories collected in
Six Easy Pieces.
His other character, ex-con Socrates Fortlow, lives in Los Angeles, infusing his episodic tales with ethical and political considerations. Excerpts from his collection
Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned: The Socrates Fortlow Stories,
have been published in
Esquire, GQ, USA Weekend, Buzz,
and
Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine.
One of these new stories was an O'Henry Award winner for 1996 and is featured in Prize Stories 1996: The O'Henry Awards edited by William Abraham. In 1996 he was named the first artist-in-residence at the Africana Studies Institute, New York University. Since that residency, he has continued to work with the department, creating an innovative lecture series entitled “Black Genius,” which brings diverse speakers from art, politics, and academe to discuss practical solutions to contemporary issues. Designed as a “public classroom,” these lectures have included speakers ranging from Spike Lee to Angela Davis. In February 1999, the collection was published with the title
Black Genius,
with a Mosley introduction and essay. This past year, Mosley returned to the mystery world with the debut of a new series.
Fearless Jones
is now available. Set in 1950s Los Angeles and introducing secondhand bookstore owner Paris Minton and his best friend, war veteran Fearless Jones, the novel is already garnering early praise. In November 2001, he published
Futureland,
an episodic view of the near future with Warner Books. HBO has already optioned three of the stories.

Percy Spurlark Parker
has been a member of the Mystery Writers of America for over thirty years, and a member of the Private Eye Writers of America since its inception. For MWA he has served as Midwest chapter president, regional director, and treasurer. For both organizations he has done his stint on writing panels and on writing committees to select best works in past years. His tally so far is one novel and more than fifty published short stories. A transplanted Chicagoan, he and his wife, Shirley, now live in Las Vegas.

Gary Phillips
is the winner of the 2003 Chester Himes award for writing. Currently,
Bangers
, a novel about corruption and power set in the underbelly of Los Angeles, is on the shelves. He has written two books about the 6-foot heartbreaker Martha Chainey,
High Hand
and
Shooter's Point
—both set in and off of the Strip in Las Vegas. “Beginners Luck,” the tale in this collection, is his first short story with the character.

Charles Shipps
presently works for the Department of Transportation in the city of Detroit, where he lives with his wife and sons. He published a volume of poetry, BLACK NEMESIS. A local radio station produced and aired two plays based on his early short stories. After graduating from Martin Luther King High School he attended Highland Park Community College, Central Michigan University, and majored in Mass Communications at Wayne State University. His numerous life experiences include clothing salesman, word processor, hotel telephone operator, a reproduction engineer in the manufacturing department of a major auto maker and projectionist in an X-rated theater. Mr. Shipps has completed a mystery novel that his agent is currently shopping to publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's Imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

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